Spending on Children

The share of federal domestic spending that goes to serve children has been on the decline since 1960, and the drop is expected to continue, according to a report from the Urban Institute.

The Washington think tank studied the percent of domestic spending on children from 1960 to 2006 and projected that the share would drop from 15.4 percent in 2006 to 13.1 percent in 2017, based on past trends. The study examined historical trends in federal spending on children by examining 100 major programs, including tax credits, Medicaid, and food stamps.

The researchers found that federal spending on children, when adjusted for inflation, increased from $53 billion in 1960 to $333 billion in 2006, but that as a share of federal domestic spending, the percentage declined during that period from 20.1 to 15.4 percent.